Friday, September 25, 2009

Do You Know How to Relax From Stress?


One of the best ways to deal with stress is relaxing. Taking just 10 or 15 minute break away from your hectic life can do your mind a body a world of good.

But, surprisingly, many people don’t seem to know how to relax effectively. They know how to take a short break away from the stresses of work, or running after hyperactive kids. But they don’t know how to use that break to give them the most benefits.

So, how do you relax the right way? Here are some tips.

Let Go of the Tension

If you have been on your feet all day, sitting down for five or ten minutes can be a huge relief. But if you are sitting in your chair as stiff as a board, and already thinking about having to go back to work in a little bit, you aren’t really relaxing.

When you sit down to take your break, forget about the work you will have to get back to once the break is over. Make a conscious effort to let go of the tension. Put your feet up, if you can. Relax those stiff muscles. You can even slouch in your seat if you want to.

A good way to relieve stress is by relaxing your body.

Don’t Think

Many people use their breaks to think. They think about all of the things they have to do after work, or once the kids are off to school. Or they think about how they will deal with the problem that came up before their break.

Typically, thinking about things like work-related problems or your busy schedule aren’t very relaxing.

During your break, try occupying your mind with something that won’t add to your stress. Read a romance novel or an entertainment magazine. Or spend the time playing with a stress relief toy.

Rethink Those Errands

The purpose of a break is to give you some time to relax and re-energize, so you can face the rest of the day with renewed energy and pep. However, if you spend your breaks running errands, you aren’t giving yourself time to relax or re-energize.

So, before you spend your break running errands, reconsider. Are these things you absolutely have to do during your break, or can you do them at another time?

Learning how to deal with stress is critical. But things can get so hectic, some people feel almost guilty for taking a moment to relax. However, by doing so, you will actually make yourself better able to deal with the stresses of daily life.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Have You Got a Clue What Stress Is?

Stress has almost become an unavoidable part of modern life. Unless you quit your job or drop out of school, cut all relationship ties, and decide to live in a cave out in the wilds, chances are you are going to have to deal with one kind of stress or another on a daily basis.

And a little stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, without it, most people wouldn’t feel the urge to get things done, achieve new things, or accomplish their goals.

But it is when stress gets out of control that the real trouble begins.

What Is Stress Exactly?

Stress is your body’s way of dealing with the outside dangers and challenges life can throw your way.

If you are walking down a dark, deserted street, your body will release hormones and chemicals that will make you more alert to your surroundings, and ready to flee to safety at a moment’s notice.

If you have an important project due in the morning, and you are going to have to stay up all night to finish it, the same chemicals and hormones will keep you awake and alert, and give you the extra boost you need to work faster.

In certain situations, a little stress is okay. But you can have too much of a good thing.

When Stress Gets Out of Control

When you are dealing with one demand or challenge after another, it can leave your body in a high state of stress. And those chemicals and hormones your body releases to help you deal with challenging situations can actually be harmful in large, prolonged doses. And, as a result, you can experience all sorts of physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral problems.

Some of the physical symptoms can include headaches, chest pains, diarrhea, sleep disorders, skin breakouts, fatigue, and high blood pressure.

The psychological symptoms can include anxiety, irritability, depression, forgetfulness, and poor concentration.

Stress can also be blamed for many relationship problems. When you are feeling tense, anxious, or overwhelmed, you are much more likely to yell at your spouse, snap at your children, demean your coworkers, or take offense at innocent comments made by friends. And all of this can put a strain on those important relationships.

So, what is stress? It is a condition that can affect every area of your life, from your physical health, to your relationships with friends and family, to your work life. That is why learning to manage stress is a critical part of leading a healthy, happy life.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Stress??? Well, OK, Maybe - Check This Out!


The Different Kinds of Stress

I did some major research into this stress thing (I have so much stress that I have the stiffest neck in town) and was quite surprised to learn all of this. I thought that you might be interestested in my findings.
I was quite interested in these types of stress that I have started two more articles for you on these stress types so that you can be better informed and hopefully deal with it more intelligently.

The Many Faces of Stress

Stress affects each individual differently, according to the cause and its effects. Therefore, there are different kinds of stress as recognized by clinical and research studies. It is important for an individual to recognize the cause of stress in order to know how to deal with it, and hopefully reduce stress levels. Moreover, each type of stress have different approaches to treatment.

Basically, there are three known types of stress: acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. However, a fourth kind – psychological stress – is also becoming more prevalent and is considered as a legitimate type of stress.

Acute Stress

This is the most common form of stress, which results from the pressures one is subjected to in their everyday life. In small doses of acute stress, it can actually be beneficial to an individual. Think of athletes that are about to compete in an event. They experience acute stress, which triggers the production of adrenaline and giving them a burst of energy needed to perform their best.

The symptoms for this type of stress are easily recognizable and mostly affects a person only in a short term. Common symptoms include back or neck pain, muscular tensions, headache, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, cold hands or feet.

Episodic Acute Stress

As mentioned above, acute stress is quite common to most people. However, there are a few others who experience it more often than others. These people are the ones who are so focused on achieving organization and yet always fail when it comes to performance. Therefore, it is not surprising that they often become irritable, if not with themselves then their initial environment. This also explains why they find the workplace quite a stressful environment.

Other forms of episodic acute stress are those people who keep worrying. They have become so pessimistic about the environment that they always project something wrong would happen. Hence, they end up feeling awful, tense, or anxious without having clear reasons for feeling that way.

Chronic Stress

This is the type of stress that wears one out. Plus, it builds up over time and can produce long-term effects on a person, whether emotionally or physically. Most forms of chronic stress are caused by trauma that they find difficult to let go and so it continues to disrupt their everyday lives.

One problem with chronic stress is that people often believe that it is something that is innate to them and that they cannot get rid of. Thus, it makes treating this condition difficult because it is often ignored by the person affected by it. It can, however, be treated through stress management procedures and behavioral treatment.

Psychological Stress

Stress has its own set of complexity. With the different types stated above, psychological stress concerns more of a person's ability to respond to a given situation. To be specific, the loss of that ability. During dangerous situations, your body produces hormones known as adrenaline and cortisol that prompts the body to make a response.

Compare this to charging a battery that produces high voltage that must be discharged. In the case of a person suffering from psychological stress, the body fails to discharge that burst of energy that is produced. The continued raise in your heart rate and the production of adrenaline could result to fatal problems in your heart.

There are several reasons as to how one acquires psychological stress but it can include trauma suffered from an emotionally disturbing event in the past or other emotional anxiety. The problem with people suffering from psychological stress is that they tend to induce more stress in their lives by subjecting themselves to stressful situations. Today, several groups hold counseling to help those who suffer from this condition and regain control over their life.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Never Any Stress in My Life! ha-ha



Well, if you believe that, i have desert waterfront in Arizona to sell you. I have so much stress in my life, my neck has not been supple in more years than i can remember.

Dealing With Stress In Your Everyday Life

What is Stress?

Stress is a response produced by your body when you are subjected to various types of demand, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. Contrary to what most people believe, stress is not associated with the negative only since excessive positive emotions can result to stress as well. When something that takes place or is about to take place in the environment is producing stress in a person's body, it results into the release of certain chemicals into your bloodstream.

On the positive side, these chemicals can be utilized to produce more energy or added strength. This is helpful when the cause of your stress is something physical. But when you are dealing with emotional stress, it can cause a negative effect on your body since there is no outlet for releasing that extra boost of energy and strength. Therefore, stress results to various types of emotional or physical responses because each individual's body respond differently to the stimulus.

Types and Causes of Stress

Whether you admit it or not, stress is a part of everyday life. Whether you are at school, at the office, or just about anywhere you are forced to deal with people and the environment. Hence, the types of stress is closely associated with its cause. And because your physical body is closely connected to your emotional and mental state, you will notice some connection to their effects when you begin to experience stress. This is also the reason why it is important to combat the cause of stress since it affects several vital aspects of your body in order to function.

Here are some of the most common sources of stress that must be dealt with on an everyday basis.

Internal Stress

There are times when you constantly worry about certain events without having enough control to determine its outcome. Internal stress is also one of those kinds of stress that needs to be addressed quickly. Most of the source of stress is rooted in the person's mind, which makes it difficult to manage and would entail more work to get rid of. Oftentimes, people suffering from internal stress subconsciously puts themselves in stressful situations or feel stressed out about things that aren't stressful to begin with.

Survival Stress

This type of stress deals with the danger, mostly physical, that an individual is subjected to. It can be prompted by an attack made by either human or animal that could potentially hurt you in the process. Therefore, your body releases this burst of energy that you need to utilize to respond quickly about the situation at hand whether to confront it or escape from it.

Environmental Stress

This type of stress is your body's way of responding to changes or activities in your environment that could produce stress, such as extreme levels of noise or pressure from work. As compared to the other types of stress already mentioned above, this one is a lot easier to deal with. The best way to get started combating this stress type is to determine the source. Once you have identified the source of environmental stress, find a way to avoid them.

Stress Due To Work and Fatigue

Another common type of stress and probably the most prevalent. This one though does not happen in an instant, but rather builds up over time. When you are spending too much time working or forced to deal with excessive amount of work, then it can take its toll on your body. To deal with work stress, you need to make sure you have enough rest and relaxation in between so your body can recover from the tremendous amount of work. There are relaxation methods that you can apply in order to find relief from stress.